At West Main  and Van Norden streets, a watchful eye can find a view into Washington’s shipping past. It’s not in the Havens Wharf warehouse on the river, though there’s plenty of history to be had there. Rather, it’s in the style of houses. Havens House, on the corner facing West Main, is an exact replica of a plantation home built long ago in Jamaica, and another that once existed in Southold, Long Island — all of which were owned by the Havens family, a shipping/timber family that made its homeport in Washington.

A little farther up Van Norden Street is the Moss House Bed and Breakfast, built by Frank and Mary Bonner Moss. What both homes share is a unique feature, or rather, a lack of one. Neither has that architectural feature synonymous with the American South: a porch — a sprawling, a “let the breeze cool us off on a hot summer’s night” kind of porch. Instead, these homes give a nod to Washington’s Caribbean connection with their yard-level brick verandas.

The veranda surrounding the Moss House is just as welcoming as any wraparound porch can be, hosting a porch swing hung from on high, as well groupings of wicker and wrought iron seating. While many might view the Moss House as “missing something,” owner Beckie Sipprell sees the veranda as adding another unique bit of history to the house and it’s also the perfect place for a summer cocktail for their many guests.

“It’s very Jamaican,” Sipprell said.

Construction on the Moss House began in 1898 but the home was not completed until 1902. The veranda, as well as the long staircase in the central hall, were both design choices made by Mary Bonner Moss. She wanted a long staircase with a short rise. The end result measures a good four feet longer than most staircases of the era. While the home hasn’t relied on its original gas lighting, much of the tall two-over-two windowpanes, as well as the heart of pine floors, many ornately carved mantels and massive 4-by-8-foot front and back doors, remain.

“Basically, it’s a four over four (design),” Sipprell said. “It’s a very basic Federal-style Victorian.”

Though Mary Bonner Moss lived in the Moss House until the 1960s, after which the home passed out of the family. In 1991, the Moss House first opened as a Bed and Breakfast. Since, it’s gone through a few owners, but for the past eight years, it’s been the home, and business of Beckie and Scott Sipprell. Over the years, a few changes have been made to the original structure, primary of which is the inclusion of the separate kitchen into the main footprint of the house. While the home did not originally have interior bathrooms, now each of the five bedrooms has its own.

One thing is for certain about the home, Siprell said: the Havens had access to good timber and plenty of it.

“This house is built solid,” Sipprell said. “When we were working on one of the bedrooms and moving a wall, we cutting through some major timber.”

Sipprell said it was the Moss House that drew the couple to Washington from the Beaufort area: they were in the market for a Bed and Breakfast and fell in love with the house and the place. While the home may be up for sale, the Sipprells say they have no intention of moving elsewhere. Washington has become their home.

The Moss House is listed at $399,000. The price of the Bed and Breakfast business is separate.